Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute Archives and Special Collections

Creator

World Coal Study

Title

World Coal Study records

ID

MC.0186

Date [inclusive]

1977-1980

Extent

7.0 cubic feet (7 record cartons)

Location

Materials are stored off-site. Advance notice is required for use.

Language

English

Abstract

The World Coal Study (WOCOL) was organized in 1978 by Carroll L. Wilson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Mitsui Professor of Problems of Contemporary Technology, to assess the potential of coal to meet world energy needs. The collection consists of records generated by the MIT-based WOCOL staff, including Wilson, during the study's planning, operation and follow-up activities from 1977 to 1980. It includes correspondence, memoranda, and reports; information about the presentation of the study's findings; conference materials; and extensive correspondence with WOCOL members and non-WOCOL members.

Citation

Historical note

Introduction to the World Coal Study

Between 1974 and 1977 Carroll Louis Wilson, Mitsui Professor of Problems of Contemporary Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, organized and directed the Workshop on Alternative Energy Strategies (WAES)—a three-year study in which seventy-five people from fifteen countries examined global energy prospects to the year 2000. The WAES final report called for an immediate effort to wean the world economy from its dependence on oil and identified only two energy sources—coal and nuclear power—that could serve as substitutes before the year 2000. As there was great uncertainty about nuclear energy, it became evident that coal should be examined more closely. Towards this end, Wilson organized the World Coal Study—WOCOL—(originally termed the Coal Trade Study - COTRA) in 1978, which involved over eighty people from sixteen major coal using and producing countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Netherlands/UK, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, West Germany). The members convened several times during an eighteen-month period to develop and present an assessment of coal’s potential to meet world energy needs.

Organization of WOCOL

Modeled on the WAES project, WOCOL operated as an independent organization with no official ties to governments or private industry. Members, whether from private or public institutions, participated as individuals and were free to express their own views rather than those of a sponsoring institution. The WOCOL organizational structure was identical to the WAES structure: senior level people (Participants) directed the study while a larger, decentralized project staff (Associates) implemented WOCOL projects. Wilson selected the thirty-five Participants who in turn chose one or more Associates. As Project Director, Wilson gave overall direction to the study. The sixteen national “teams” first assembled data and projections on the supply and use of coal for their own countries. They then combined their information with data from other teams to make regional and finally global estimates. WOCOL headquarters and secretariat expenses at MIT were supported by grants from private organizations(1) and the US Government. Participants provided financial support for activities conducted in their countries and for the expenses involved in attending and sponsoring WOCOL meetings.

WOCOL Findings

The project’s two-volume final report was published in 1980. Volume I,
Coal: Bridge to the Future, includes a summary of the findings and a more detailed presentation of issues considered, such as world energy prospects, coal markets and prices, and coal-using technologies. Volume II,
Future Coal Prospects: Country and Regional Assessments, contains the full texts of the reports by each of the sixteen national teams. Like WAES, the findings of WOCOL were intended to be useful to industries, national governments and international bodies which make energy choices. As summarized in the
New York Times on May 13, 1980, the day following the final report’s public release, the report concluded that

… coal use must be tripled, and steam coal exports increased at least tenfold, if the world is to solve its immediate energy problems. What are the alternatives? Conservation alone cannot contribute enough. Nuclear power is meeting increasing resistance. Solar and other renewable energy sources cannot be developed and widely marketed until about the year 2000. So in the meantime, most of the added energy needed for moderate economic growth must (and can) come from coal.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The records were created and collected by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) based World Coal Study (WOCOL) staff, which included project director Carroll Wilson, his program staff, Robert P. Greene and J. Michael Gallagher, along with his administrative staff headed by Susan Leland. The records span 1977 to 1982, the years of WOCOL’s planning, operation, and follow-up activities. The collection offers information on the use of coal as an energy source for the period 1977 to 2000 and the prospects for expanding world coal production, utilization, and trade to meet increased energy needs. In addition, the WOCOL records illustrate a method used to study global problems and solutions.

Arrangement note

The collection is organized into four series: Series 1. Administrative Records, 1977-1981; Series 2. Correspondence Files, 1977-1981; Series 3. Conference Files, 1978-1979; and Series 4. Records about WOCOL Pubications, 1978-1982.

Revision Description

2010

Access note

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use note

Condition of media needs to be reviewed. There may be restrictions on use.

Intellectual Property Rights

Access to collections in the Institute Archives and Special Collections is not authorization to publish. Separate written application for permission to publish must be made to the Institute Archives. Copyright of some items in this collection may be held by respective creators, not by the donor of the collection.

Collection Inventory

Series 1. Administrative Records 1977-1981

Scope and Contents note

This series is arranged alphabetically by activity and documents the administrative activities of Wilson, Greene, and Gallagher. Correspondence relating to the recruitment of sponsors (box 1, folders 6-12) offers a rich account of the study’s financial history and of private industry’s concerns for finding solutions to the energy crisis of the 1970s. Correspondence with those foundations which chose not to support WOCOL offers a critical view of the study’s methodology (see especially the Ford Foundation, box 1, folder 13). While the presentations Wilson gave to explain WOCOL findings are often repetitive, the related correspondence discusses the responses he received to the presentations (boxes 1-2, folders 41-87).

Box

Folder

Background readings sent to WOCOL members 1978

1

1

Biographical information about WOCOL members 1978

1

2

Correspondence with MIT administrators undated

1

3

Financial and Funding Records: Allocation of WOCOL final costs by country, (1980?) undated

Series 2. Correspondence Files 1977-1981

Scope and Contents note

The series is divided into two groups: correspondence with WOCOL members and correspondence with non-WOCOL members, arranged alphabetically within the groups. Many of the correspondents (both members and non-members) were former members of the Workshop on Alternative Energy Strategies. The correspondence often contains interesting personal views about world coal, energy, and political situations.

Correspondence with WOCOL members includes the correspondence of those persons officially connected to the study: Participants, Associates, MIT-based WOCOL staff, and Consultants. In addition to routine correspondence, Participant correspondence includes discussions about administrative matters, task assignments, progress reports, and the phrasing and structure of the final report. Many Participants were long-time friends of Wilson, and their correspondence often contains references to personal matters. Major WOCOL correspondents include Shri S. K. Bose, Kenneth Davis, Robert Seamans, Peter Horrobin, F. Taylor Ostrander, David Sternlight, and David Tolmie.

Correspondence with non-WOCOL members includes the correspondence of those persons who were associated with WOCOL as conference observers, advised Wilson on one or two WOCOL-related issues, or in some cases took an active role in WOCOL projects. Many were associated with organizations already represented in WOCOL by a Participant or Associate. Major non-WOCOL correspondents include Barbara Ettles, Gerald Foley, Osgood Nichols, and Michael Koleda.

Series 3. Conference Files 1978-1979

Scope and Contents note

This series is arranged chronologically by conference, with the US Team Meetings material filed chronologically at the end of the series. Types of records are fairly consistent throughout the series. Materials distributed to all conference participants include agendas, reports of sessions, papers presented, and working group reports.

Series 4. Records about WOCOL Publications 1978-1982

Scope and Contents note

This series is arranged chronologically by publication and then alphabetically by type of activity. The collection contains copies of the Prospectus (box 5, folder 264) and Brochure (box 5, folder 265). Both outline the objectives, organization, and procedures of the study. The Prospectus was used in the recruitment of sponsors. The Brochure lists the WOCOL members, sponsoring organizations, and conference schedules. The remainder and bulk of the series documents the administrative aspects of producing the two-volume final report. Several folders contain drafts and galley proofs of portions of the report (box 6, folders 290-303), but the published volumes are not in the collection. Of special interest are the publications based on the final report (box 6, folders 276-279), which offer concise overviews of the WOCOL findings and, in one case, a critical assessment (box 6, folder 279). Responses to the release of the report in all WOCOL countries are documented in the volume of press clippings, “World Press Reception of the Final Report” (box 6, folder 287-288).

Box

Folder

Prospectus of WOCOL 1977-1979

5

264

WOCOL brochure 1979 November

5

265

Final report, copyright agreement 1980 April

5

266

Corrections in final report 1980

5

267

Final report, distribution lists undated

5

268

French translation of final report undated

5

269

Polish translation of final report 1981

5

270

General correspondence regarding final report 1980

6

271

Final report, John Wiley and Sons Inc. - correspondence 1979

6

272

Final report, letters of transmittal 1980

6

273

Final report, McGraw Hill Book Company - correspondence 1978-1979

6

274

“Outreach Plans for WOCOL Report,” by James Bishop Jr. 1980 April

6

275

Publications based on final report:
COAL: Energy for the Future, by Shell Briefing Service 1980

6

276

Publications based on final report: “Re-Industrializing with Coal,”
Financier, by J. M. Gallagher 1980

6

277

Publications based on final report:
Report of the I.E.A. Coal Industry Advisory Board 1980 December